Haiti quake death toll up to 1297
Rescuers race approaching storm in their dig for survivors
LES CAYES, Haiti — The death toll from a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Haiti more than doubled to 1297 on Sunday as rescuers raced to find survivors amid the rubble ahead of a potential deluge from an approaching tropical storm that threatened to further complicate relief efforts.
At least 2,800 people have been injured and nearly 7,000 left homeless. Survivors in some areas were forced to shelter in streets or soccer fields with their few salvaged belongings while overloaded hospitals scrambled to help those who were injured.
As Haitians dug through collapsed homes and buildings, the U.S. prepared to deploy a 59-member search and rescue team Sunday from Fairfax County, Va. The United Nations warned that relief operations were confronting “restrictions” due to the presence of violent gangs “hindering the capacity of humanitarian actors to operate normally and reach affected populations.”
The 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday morning. It was stronger, though centered farther from the capital, than the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed more than 220,000 people. Officials and witnesses said the southern and western areas of the country sustained devastating damage.
The epicenter was about 78 miles west of the capital of Portau-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and aftershocks continued to jolt the area Sunday.
Yet the devastation could soon worsen with the coming of Tropical Storm Grace, which was predicted to reach Haiti late today or early Tuesday, bringing the potential for torrential rain, flooding and landslides. The U.S. National Hurricane Center forecast 4 to 8 inches of rain in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with up to 15 inches in some southern parts of the island they share.
In the badly damaged coastal town of Les Cayes, some families salvaged their few belongings and spent the night at an open-air soccer field. Sunday morning, people lined up to buy what little was available: bananas, avocados and water at a local street market.
Some in the town praised God for helping them survive the earthquake, and many went to the city’s cathedral, which appeared outwardly undamaged even if the priests’ residence was destroyed.
“We only have Jesus now,” said Johanne Dorcely, 58, whose house was destroyed. “If it wasn’t for Jesus, I wouldn’t be able to be here today.”
Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country and said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed. A former senator rented a private airplane to move injured people from Les Cayes to Port-au-Prince for medical assistance.
“The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble,” said Henry. “We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people.”
Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection said more than 7,000 homes were destroyed and nearly 5,000 damaged. Hospitals, schools, offices and churches were also affected.
Hospitals were overwhelmed at a moment when Haiti has been struggling with the pandemic and a lack of resources to deal with it. The country of 11 million people received its first batch of U.S.-donated coronavirus vaccines only last month via a United Nations program for low-income countries.
Medical workers from across the region were scrambling to help as hospitals in Les Cayes started running out of space to perform surgeries.
“Basically, they need everything,” said Dr. Inobert Pierre, a pediatrician with the nonprofit Health Equity International, which oversees the St. Boniface Hospital, about two hours from Les Cayes.
“Many of the patients have open wounds, and they have been exposed to not-so-clean elements,” added Pierre, who visited two hospitals in Les Cayes — one with some 200 patients, the other with around 90. “We anticipate a lot of infections.”
Pierre’s medical team was taking some patients to St. Boniface Hospital to undergo surgery, but with just two ambulances, they could only transport four patients at a time.
The earthquake also struck just over a month after President Jovenel Moise was shot to death in his home, sending the country into political chaos. His widow, Martine Moise, who was seriously wounded in the attack, posted a message on Twitter calling for unity among Haitians: “Let’s put our shoulders together to bring solidarity.”
Already on the scene were several members of Cuba’s 253-member health care mission to Haiti, and the socialist nation’s state media showed photos of them giving first aid to victims injured by the quake.
The North Carolina-based aid group Samaritan’s Purse announced Sunday it would airlift 13 disaster response specialists and 31 tons of emergency supplies to Haiti. Those include shelter materials and water filtration units.
Humanitarian workers said gang activity in the seaside district of Martissant, just west of the Haitian capital, also was complicating relief efforts.
“Nobody can travel through the area,” Ndiaga Seck, a UNICEF spokesman in Portau-Prince, said. “We can only fly over or take another route.”
Seck said information about deaths and damage was slow coming to Port-au-Prince because of spotty internet service, but UNICEF planned to send medical supplies to two hospitals in the south, in Les Cayes and Jeremie.